The Next River

  Copyright © 2018 by Neviah Wohl (Editor)

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Some characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

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  Title Page

  Title: The Next River

  Subtitle: Collection of Transgender M2F Romance Short Stories

  Editor: Neviah Wohl

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Title Page

  The Seducing Touchdown

  My Best Friend

  Straddling the Fence of Certainty

  The Seducing Touchdown

  Description

  Sick of his hoarding and a house filled to the brim with junk, football player Romeo Tuckett’s family goes behind his back to hire a professional cleaner who specializes in cleaning the houses of hoarders. When Romeo finds out, he is completely against the idea and rejects any outside help, but when his family threatens to expose his secret, Romeo is forced to act.

  Arissa Suarez, owner of Tidier Homes, Inc., is no stranger to the houses of hoarders. Her own mother was a hoarder and the experience compelled Arissa to start her own company to help those who want to clean and organize their homes. She doesn’t expect anything but a normal job, but when she meets Romeo for the first time, she can’t deny her immediate attraction to him.

  As a relationship between the two develops, Arissa know she must reveal her deepest secret to Romeo. But it’s a secret that could end their blossoming romance.

  Chapter 1: Arissa

  “You have a call waiting on line one,” Kayla said as her boss walked through the door. “Sounds urgent.”

  Arissa Suarez’s eyes widened in surprise. “Already? It’s only eight thirty.”

  “I told him you don’t come in until nine. Said he’d wait.”

  “Okay,” Arissa nodded, “I’ll get to it.”

  She entered her office and closed the door behind her, although she wasn’t sure why she did that. Kayla was her assistant. She knew everything about the company and was the first person anyone calling would speak to. Whatever she didn’t know, Arissa would tell her eventually. She collapsed into her chair and fired up her computer. The phone line blinked impatiently and Arissa sighed and picked up.

  “Hello, this is Arissa Suarez.”

  “Hello, Arissa,” a male voice came from the other end. “My name is Julian Markovitz and I’m the personal assistant to Romeo Tuckett.”

  Who? Arissa wanted to ask. Luckily, Julian answered before she could ask.

  “Player for the Jays,” Julian said incredulously, like he couldn’t believe Arissa had never heard of Romeo Tuckett before.

  But Arissa remained quiet. Player could mean any sport.

  Julian sighed. “He’s a football player.”

  “Ah, okay,” Arissa said. “How can I help you?”

  “It’s my boss’s place,” Julian continued, “it’s—” he paused. “This is all confidential, right? What I’m about to tell you.”

  “Completely,” Arissa replied.

  “Okay,” Julian sighed with relief. “Well, his house is a fucking mess. Excuse my language. He lives out of one room. Everywhere else is filled to the ceiling with trash and I can’t get him to clean, no matter what. His family’s had enough and told me to call you, since you have a lot of experience with…hoarders.”

  Arissa leaned back in her chair. “I do have a lot of experience so it’s a good thing you called. How long has he been hoarding?”

  “Ah, I don’t know. He always had a lot of stuff but it picked up after his little sister died a couple years ago.”

  Bingo, Arissa thought. She wasn’t a psychologist at all but in the great majority of hoarding cases there was usually some sort of traumatic experience that was the catalyst. It seemed that Romeo was in the beginning stages of hoarding and when his sister died, it sent him over the edge.

  “Does Mr. Tuckett know you’re calling me?” Arissa asked. She knew it was better for the hoarders to be present when their house was being cleaned and she actually required it.

  “He doesn’t know,” Julian said. “Is that bad?”

  “If you and his family want the house cleaned out, Mr. Tuckett has to be there. He has to see what his hoarding is doing to those around him. Participating will be extremely beneficial for him.”

  Julian noisily sighed on the other end of the line. “He’s never going to agree to having his house cleaned.”

  “You never know. I’ve had the most stubborn of hoarders finally agree and years later they’re still doing great. Everyone who means a lot to Mr. Tuckett has to gather with him and gently tell him their concerns. No yelling, no name calling, none of that.”

  “Okay,” Julian said. “I think we can do that. So what should I do if he says yes?”

  “Call me back and we can set up a day to start the cleanup,” Arissa replied.

  “Sounds great. Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

  After taking down Julian’s number in case of an emergency, Arissa hung up. She still wanted to learn more about Romeo and typed his name into Google. Thousands of hits came up, including a Wikipedia page that Arissa clicked on. She scrolled down to the Personal Life section and skimmed until she came to the death of Romeo’s sister.

  Her name was Eliza and she was three years younger than Romeo. According to the Wiki article, Romeo and Eliza were very close and he was devastated after her death. Arissa found it interesting and a bit odd that no cause of death for Eliza was listed and she couldn’t remember ever hearing about it in 2011.

  Jotting that down quickly and making a mental note to ask Kayla to investigate a bit more, Arissa returned to Google. She looked at the pictures of Romeo and shivered. He was handsome. More than handsome, in fact, Arissa concluded. He reminded her of Travis Fimmel, who played Ragnar in Vikings, with his dirty-blond hair, light eyes that were the color of diamonds, and overall rugged appearance. He was the perfect kind of man to play football, in Arissa’s mind. When she clicked on a full body picture of him, she had to clench her thighs together. He was sexy.

  A knock on her door drew Arissa’s attention away from the computer and Romeo.

  “Come in,” she called out.

  The door opened a bit and Kayla popped her head through. “Everything okay?” she asked.

  Arissa gestured for her to come in. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Do you know who Romeo Tuckett is?”

  Kayla rolled her eyes. “He plays for my dad’s favorite team. If I’m ever unfortunate enough to be at my parent’s house when the Jays are playing, I have to hear from my dad how great Tuckett is.”

  Arissa chuckled. “Well, that was his personal assistant. Apparently this great football player has a hoarding problem.”

  Kayla crossed one leg over the other. “Oh, wow. I’m not surprised, though.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Every time I see pap pictures of him, he has bags in his hands, like he’s been shopping. There was a rumor that his parents tried to put a limit on his spending,” Kayla said. “But if I made the kind of money he does, I’d probably shop so much too.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Arissa agreed. “Did you know he had a sister named Eliza who died?”

  Kayla furrowed her brow, deep in thought. “No,” she said, “I didn’t know that. When was this?”

  “Well, according to Wikipedia, s
he died in 2011. Four days after Christmas.”

  “Oh wow, that’s horrible. I wonder what happened. Does it say?”

  Arissa shook her head. “It doesn’t. That’s the weird thing. I don’t even remember hearing anything about it. I give them all the props in the world, though. They managed to keep her death a private matter and the media left them alone.”

  “True,” Kayla said slowly. “But it still sounds incredibly weird. Not even an obituary or anything? Time to put my investigation skills to use.”

  “Try not to get us threatened with a lawsuit like last time, please.”

  Kayla playfully stuck her tongue out at Arissa and left the room. She closed the door quietly behind her.

  Arissa returned to her work but she couldn’t stop thinking about Romeo Tuckett and his sister. Arissa wasn’t a private investigator, but she sure was curious.

  Chapter 2: Romeo

  “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”

  The locker room erupted in laughter and Romeo Tuckett glared at his teammate and best friend, Belxey Jenkins.

  “You’re an asshole. You know that, right?” Romeo said, throwing his sweaty hand towel at Bexley.

  “Aw, come on Ro,” Bexley said with a smirk, “you have to admit that your name is pretty funny.”

  “Not anymore funny than Bexley,” Romeo shot back.

  Bexley opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again. He narrowed his eyes at Romeo and turned on his heel to walk away.

  “You two argue like girls,” another teammate said when Bexley walked away.

  “At least we get girls,” Romeo muttered.

  The locker room erupted in laughter again but soon, all was forgotten and the men inside showered and left for the day.

  Every part of Romeo’s body shouted in protest as he crammed himself into his car. He really needed another car but this car had been a gift from his sister before she died and he couldn’t part with it yet. He turned on his cellphone for the first time that day and looked through the caller ID and text messages. He had one from his mom that read:

  Know ur busy @ practice. Call when finished.

  Romeo chuckled at his mother’s text language and dialed her number. She picked up after the third ring.

  “Hey, sweetie, how was practice?” Meredith asked her son.

  “It was good. Everyone’s getting excited for the upcoming season.”

  Meredith squealed. “Oh, I hope this year is Super Bowl year! I want you guys to win that trophy.”

  “So you’re saying I’m not good enough without a Super Bowl win?” Romeo feigned sadness and sniffled.

  “Oh stop! You know that’s not what I meant,” Meredith said. “Anyway, I need you to come over tonight for dinner.”

  Romeo groaned, “What for, Mom?”

  “Why do you sound like that?”

  Romeo sighed. “Sound like what, Mom?”

  “Like you don’t want to be around us.”

  Romeo rolled his eyes. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be around his family- no, that was exactly what it was. He loved his family, he did, but he knew why they wanted him to attend dinner and he wanted no part of it. But he also knew his mother would nag him to death so, reluctantly, he told his mother he’d be at her house around eight.

  He put the keys into the ignition and turned, driving towards his house in a secluded area of Bel Air. He had chosen the house on purpose and so far, its seclusion was holding up well. No paparazzi, no spying neighbors, just complete privacy.

  Romeo turned onto his street. His house was at the end, partially down a hill that prevented anyone from seeing inside of his home or even where he lived. He left his car in the driveway and got out the car. Sighing, he walked up to his front door. He wasn’t ready to see what was behind the door, even though he knew exactly what it was he would be seeing. Romeo looked over his shoulder once more before opening his door and quickly stepping inside.

  The chaos that greeted him was nothing new but always made him feel depressed. Romeo was a hoarder. There was no denying it. He had stuff piled high in every room of his house. Most of the things, he didn’t even remember buying. He pushed his way through the house and up the stairs to his bedroom, which was the cleanest room in the house- not that clean actually meant clean. He was able to walk around without much struggle and his bathroom was still functional.

  Romeo collapsed onto his bed and looked at the clock by his bed. It was already 6:30. Just an hour and a half and he’d have to be at his parent’s house, listening to them talk to him about his problem. Romeo wasn’t up to it at all, but if he didn’t go to his parent’s house, he wouldn’t eat. He hadn’t seen his kitchen in about a year. It was buried under mounds of trash so cooking was impossible.

  At 7:30, Romeo forced himself out of bed and back down to his car. He would probably be late, depending on traffic. He considered calling his mom and telling her he couldn’t make it, but then he thought of the hell he’d have to pay and immediately decided against it.

  The house Romeo bought his parents in Calabasas was modest by rich people standards. They didn’t need anything huge as all of the children were out of the house but they still wanted something that would accommodate their grandchildren. Romeo pulled into the driveway behind a white car that he recognized immediately. It belonged to Julian, his assistant.

  Romeo leapt out his car and jogged up to the front door. Knowing it was open, he turned the knob and pushed. His parents’ two dogs, Mila and Sadie, ran up to him. Mila was an enormous Great Dane and even with Romeo’s stature, he was still knocked off balance by her.

  “Romeo? Is that you?” Meredith called from the kitchen.

  “Yeah, it’s me,” he called back. He removed his shoes at the front door like his parents required and made his way into the kitchen where his mom and dad, Adam, were busy at the stove.

  “Since when do you cook, Dad?” Romeo joked.

  “Since your mother threatened to make me sleep in one of the spare bedrooms if I didn’t help her,” Adam replied.

  Romeo laughed and sat down at the island. He stole two cookies from the serving dish in front of him, which got him a slap on the hand with a warm spatula.

  “Is Julian here?” Romeo asked, remembering that he had seen his assistant’s car.

  Meredith nodded. “He is. He’s napping upstairs. Had a rough night.”

  Romeo tilted his head in confusion. “Rough night? What do you mean?”

  Just as Meredith was about to answer, Julian entered the kitchen yawning. “Hey, boss,” he said.

  Romeo looked from his mom to his dad to Julian. Since when did Julian sleep over? Meredith announced dinner was ready and everyone should head into the dining room, ruining Romeo’s chance to ask.

  Although his mom could be pretty annoying, Romeo had to admit she was an amazing cook. No one could out-cook Meredith. Romeo scarfed down the food like he had never eaten before and completely miss the concerned glances his parents and Julian tossed to one another.

  “How’s your house looking these days?” Adam asked Romeo.

  Romeo dropped his fork and sighed. “I didn’t come here to talk about my house.”

  “Well, that there is the problem,” Adam said. “You never want to talk about anything and nothing is being done.”

  Julian cleared his throat. “Look, Romeo. You know I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You’re the best boss ever. I care about you. And I really think you should get some help. There’s nothing to be ashamed about.”

  Romeo stared at Julian incredulously. “You’re on their side? Really?”

  Julian shrunk back into his chair without saying another word.

  “Ro, something’s gotta give,” Meredith said sadly. “Your house will kill you if you don’t get any help. Julian called someone this morning and she said she could—”

  “YOU WHAT?” Romeo roared. “You called someone behind my back?? This is my problem, not yours, not anyone else’s. And I defini
tely don’t need any of you calling some random person to help me.” He stood up to leave. “Please leave me alone for the next couple of days.”

  Everyone remained silent as Romeo left the house, slamming the front door behind him. He climbed into his car and sat for a moment before putting the keys into the ignition and starting the car. Romeo was mad, but he wasn’t mad at his parents or Julian.

  He was mad at himself.

  Chapter 3: Arissa

  “I’m so glad you decided to come out with us tonight, Ari!” Karina said excitedly. She did some kind of shimmy and half-walked, half-stumbled to the taxi.

  Arissa eyed her best friend and immediately knew that Karina had already had quite a few drinks. She shook her head and chuckled. It was going to be a long night. The ride from Arissa’s house to downtown LA took twenty minutes and when Arissa stepped out of the cab an overwhelming feeling of unease washed over her like a wave. She looked over her shoulder but saw nothing except other eager club-goers and the taxi speeding away.

  “I told Leah and Jade to meet us here,” Karina said. She was practically shouting even though they were still outside the club and could hear one another just fine.

  “They may be inside,” Arissa suggested. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Arissa took Karina’s hand and led her to the front door of the club. They showed their IDs to the bouncer in front and walked inside after getting the go-ahead.

  “Do you see them?” Karina shouted.

  Arissa stood on her tiptoes and searched for Leah’s signature fiery red hair. She spotted a red head at the bar.

  “Over there!” Arissa shouted.

  Just as Arissa and Karina approached Leah, she turned around and smiled. “Hey! Jade and I thought you’d never get here!”

  Arissa looked around. “Where is Jade?” she asked Leah.

  “Oh, um,” Leah paused. “She was just here a minute ago.”

  “Oh boy,” Arissa muttered. If Karina was a crazy drunk, Jade was ten times worse. But, unlike Karina, Jade never stayed with the group and always wandered off, usually getting herself into some kind of trouble.